Cesc Fabregas has named his dream combined Arsenal and Chelsea eleven, with Didier Drogba and Dennis Bergkamp among the big players to miss out from the team.
Fabregas started his career in the Premier League with Arsenal, spending eight years at the Emirates before leaving the club for Barcelona.
After three seasons with the gunners, Fabregas returned to London but this time he joined Chelsea. He played with some world-class stars during his stints at both teams and he built a dream combined lineup for BT Sport with players from the two clubs.
GK: Thibaut Courtois
‘When we won the Premier League and FA Cup in my first season there he was fantastic, he was great. Obviously Jens Lehmann was goalkeeer of the Invincibles and he was fantastic but I will go with Courtois.’
RB: Branislav Ivanovic
‘He was fantastic, he was a warrior. I was very impressed by him in my first year, with his personality. A proper warrior. I could have taken Bacary or Lauren as well but I will go with Ivanovic, he could player anywhere and he was a guy who delivers.’
LB: Gael Clichy
‘I respect Gael a lot. He’s such a professional. He helped me a lot when I was little. For me, his dedication – he was playing, he was not playing, he was a team man. Definitely someone we had similar careers, Arsenal, Man City, we were playing against each other, competing with each other. He’s someone I respect a lot.’
CBs: Sol Campbell and John Terry
‘They have everything in there. Especially the leadership and experience these two guys have, it’s outstanding. I don’t think I could have picked much better than that, to be fair.’
DCM: Patrick Vieira
‘Patrick was such a role model for me. When I was there, he’s seen as a very defensive midfielder but his technical ability was very underrated. I think he’s one of the players I learned most about.’
LCM: Eden Hazard
‘If I was a manager, he would never play in that position. I just put him there because he has to be on my team. I love Eden, he’s such a talent. He’s one of these players that, by feeling they don’t really care they perform at such a high level all of a sudden. I believe Eden is probably one of the most talented players I played with. He changed games, he scored vital goals, important goals, he makes you win titles, definitely he would be in my team.’
RCM: Alexander Hleb
‘He was different class. I loved playing with him because he’s one of those players who always wants the ball, give him a melon like we say in Spain and he will control it and get out of tight spaces, give it back. He was always looking for me, we were interchanging positions. Now managers, they love to play in this position, you play here, you have to keep your position but when you have intelligent players that can understand to switch positions and the team doesn’t lose stability – for me, it’s so nice to see and with Alex, apart from he was one of my best friends in football, he was a sensational player and I don’t really see why he cannot be in this team.’
CF: Robin van Persie
‘He was magical. He was a fantastic goalscorer, scored some fantastic goals, some of the best goals I’ve seen live being on a football pitch. Again, he was very intelligent, he knows when to be calm, he knows when to attack, he can give the last pass, he can attack behind the defenders, his timing – he was not the fastest but the timing of his runs was always fantastic. I enjoyed playing with him. The year I left, he had the season of his life. I was like, why now I’ve left? For talent, for everything, Robin has to be there.’
ST: Thierry Henry
‘Is there anything else to say? Definitely one of the top-three players I played with. Sensational. Wins you titles. Wins you games. Scores over 25 goals a season. He’s got everything, techinical ability, vision, character, leadership, runs in the space, finishing – absolutely everything.’
ST: Diego Costa
‘I could have picked Dennis Bergkamp, Didier Drogba but yeah I’ll go with Diego Costa because we had a special relationship. Sometimes I didn’t have to look at him, he knows what I’m going to do. As well, the timing of his runs, his leadership, his character – he was always motivated. I feel he could be very useful up front with this team.’
